Rape bill sparks national controversy

State Rep. Cathrynn Brown is taking a beating in the national press for a controversial bill she introduced that would let officials charge a woman who was raped and got pregnant with tampering with evidence if she receives an abortion.

Brown said the bill is written poorly and the controversy is all a misunderstanding. Part of the legislation reads, “whoever commits tampering with evidence shall be punished.”

She said the bill does not mention the rapist being charged with a crime, which she said is the whole point of the legislation.

Brown introduced the bill on Wednesday, she said, and the phone calls started coming in Thursday morning.

“Some people misinterpreted the bill saying the girl who is pregnant, if she chooses to get an abortion, that she can be charged with tampering with evidence, and that’s truly not the case,” Brown said.

Brown said the law would go after the perpetrator of the crime, not the victim. She said she is working to get the right language into the bill to clear up the confusion.

The confusion, according to Brown, started when the bill was drafted. Two writers worked on the legislation. One writer quit, she said, and it was passed to another writer.

Brown said she is trying to protect rape and incest victims, saying some offenders pressure women to get abortions.

“When they violate her like this, we need to make it so it doesn’t continue and what evidence do we have of the crime, than the DNA evidence?” Brown said.

A spokesperson for House Democrats said the bill, even if corrected, makes little sense. The spokesperson said laws are already in place to protect women in these situations if they choose to prosecute.

Brown could not say when the bill would be heard in committee, which is when she will introduce those substitutions.

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